2012 Deepest Elite Marathon Year Ever

Eleven men under 2:05, six women under 2:20 are records.

After yesterday's Fukuoka Marathon in Japan, it can safely be said that 2012 has been the deepest year for elite marathon runs in history, according to stats compiled by running-number-cruncher supreme Ken Nakamura.

Much was made in 2011 about how elite marathoning had made a jump in the number of fast performances. Almost every week, it seemed, there was a guy running 2:05 or a woman running 2:22 whom even the hardest of hard-core fans hadn't heard of. By the end of 2011, a then-record 29 men had broken 2:07 during the year, and a then-record 25 women had broken 2:24 during the year.

Well, this year makes last year look like a warm-up. As of this writing, 43 men have broken 2:07 in 2012, and 33 women have broken 2:24 since January. The stats remain staggering as you move up and down the time lists. Eleven men have run under 2:05 this year, compared to seven last year, and 23 have broken 2:06, compared to 13 in 2011. This is so even though the 2011 lists were boosted by the wind-blown times at that year's Boston Marathon, where four men, including Ryan Hall, finished under 2:05.

Much was also made in 2011 about how elite women had yet to match the men in terms of depth of performance. That was no longer the case in 2012. Six women have broken 2:20 this year, compared to three in 2011, and 16 have run under 2:22, compared to five in 2011. This second set of stats is potentially more meaningful than the sub-2:20 numbers, as it suggests a quickly growing pool of women ready to make the leap to the creme-de-la-creme sub-2:20 category.

Times that used to be notable are increasingly commonplace. So far in 2012, 148 women have broken 2:30, compared to 139 last year and, more tellingly, 56 in 1999. On the men's side, the old world-class standard of 2:11 (roughly 5:00 per mile) has so far been surpassed by 235 men in 2012, compared to 81 in 1999.